Communicating and Controlling Strategy: An Empirical Study of the Effectiveness of the Balanced Scorecard Part 1 of 4

This paper reports evidence on the effectiveness of the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) as a strategy communication and management-control device. This paper reviews management control and communication literatures that identify criteria for effective control and communication of strategy. The paper analyzes empirical interview and archival data to model the use and assess the effectiveness of the BSC. The paper uses data from multiple divisions of a large, international manufacturing company. Data are from BSC designers, administrators, and North American managers whose divisions are objects of the BSC. This paper accumulate evidence regarding the challenges of designing and implementing the BSC faced by even a large, well-funded company.